Stop Brexit, Transform the UK and Europe

Posted on 09-09-19 by Totnes CLP
Number of votes: 0 | Number of comments: 2

This motion was passed by Totnes CLP on 5th September 2019. Although the CLP elected to send a motion on the Green New Deal to Conference, it also wishes to draw the Party's attention to its view on Brexit.

The majority of Labour members and voters oppose Brexit. We cannot go into a general election without a clear Brexit policy.Brexit is part of a right-wing nationalist exploitation of global economic and social crisis. If we leave the EU, Brexit does not end. We would face years of negotiations and neoliberal trade deals. Any form of Brexit threatens jobs, workers' rights, migrants, the NHS, public services and the environment, and makes it harder to deliver a radical manifesto.Instead of backing Brexit and the harm it would cause, we should challenge the narratives of the far right, addressing the reasons people voted Leave. We must attack poverty, insecurity and inequality; rebuild communities with public investment and ownership; boost wages and union rights; and combat the climate crisis. We should defend free movement and extend migrants' rights.The Leave vote is three years old. What was meant by Leave was never clear. There is no mandate for any particular Brexit settlement. Democracy demands the people have the chance to pass verdict on the Tories' failed negotiations.Labour must support a confirmatory vote on any Brexit outcome, ensuring that voters have a clear choice between leaving on negotiated terms or staying in the EU.Labour must campaign for Remain in any public vote – not to defend the status quo, but as the basis for a radical transformation of the UK and European economies.